Nick and Adalind
by rpmaluki
Summary: Because I miss these two so much, I wanted to write a little something with my favourite couple.
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** This isn't a multi-chapter story. I was missing these two and wanted to write something. I hope you enjoy it. Beware of S5 and S6 spoilers.

* * *

 **Nick & Adalind ****– Part 1**

The first time he told Adalind he loved her, he hadn't planned it, so consumed he was with keeping her and the children hidden and safe so he could hunt and kill Zerstörer. He left her in the basement of the Postman's cabin with only a hug for a goodbye. Words had utterly failed him, which wasn't exactly a first for Nick. He was terrible with goodbyes, especially when he felt tossed about in a tumult of emotions coursing through his entire body where Adalind was concerned.

He'd walked out with determination in his step but she chased him down and pleaded with him to be careful, catching him by surprise. His stomach curled with tingling excitement as well as dread at just looking at her. Adalind had him completely entranced, as if she'd put a spell on him and he didn't even care as long as he could gaze into her glorious eyes one more time. She was beautiful that night, too alluring underneath the moonlight.

All of a sudden, he couldn't hold back any longer as his emotions rapidly shot through to the surface. She had to know. He needed her to know a truth that had lain buried deep in his bones for a while now, that he loved her just as fresh unsolicited thoughts of never seeing her again pummelled his heart ferociously. After months of biting down all traces of feeling that had left him vulnerable, Nick's heart was bursting at the seams with unspoken words he could no longer keep to himself. He loved Adalind and he needed her to know it, here at the possible end of all things.

Compelled by a force stronger than him, Nick captured her lips with his own, savouring her taste, which served as a stern reminder to fight and to keep on fighting even if he was going against an enemy that could only be described as pure evil. Upon breaking free for want of oxygen, he breathed out those three little words he'd held captive in his heart for far longer than he should have because he'd been afraid of too many things that had kept him from living his life for far too long. It was irrational, he realised. Nick had been afraid of feeling too much, afraid of losing too much, reverting to self-preservation mode as his life passed him by and now it could be too late….

Over the course of their time together, Nick had learnt the sharp strain of separating from Adalind when Bonaparte came into their lives. It was suffocating and astonishingly, it had shaken him to his core. Those few weeks apart had set him off-balance as he spiralled out of control for the first time in his life since the age of twelve, when he had lost his parents in a car accident. He hadn't liked feeling that powerless at all. All his life, Nick had worked hard for control in the midst of the chaos around him, first with his parents' death and later with his aunt trekking them both across the country, never settling in one place until he'd finally reached his maturity. Life had been hard and forming meaningful relationships had been harder but he'd managed it, much to his surprise.

Then he lost his aunt and later Juliette. He'd teetered dangerously close to the edge but instead of the grief sweeping over him, an unexpected light had shone over his life at the time he needed it the most. Nick had become a father and thus had chosen to lose himself in his newfound situation as both protector and provider to his son, which automatically included his onetime enemy, recently former and now mother of his child, Adalind Schade. Even though she wasn't his responsibility, Nick had reluctantly accepted his role regardless. He did it all for Kelly, his son. Although, he couldn't have imagined the change in him, how his cold exterior thawed with each passing day.

When Bonaparte had forced Adalind to leave him and taking their son with her, Nick had completely lost it. Naturally, he'd felt the loss of a son he loved dearly but what was unexpected to him was the level of pain he'd felt at losing Adalind. It was so acute he couldn't think straight. It was nothing at all like he'd felt before, not even the day he lost Juliette. Something dark had settled over him, cracking the foundation beneath. Nick did things he'd never dreamt capable, just to get her back, to get them both back. Clearly, thing had changed between them, he just never realised how much until she was gone. For all the anguish he felt then, Nick could never express, to either himself or his friends the full extent of his emotions, at losing Adalind, framing his pain only around his son.

The first time Nick had thought of kissing her, he'd berated himself, as it happened so soon after Juliette's death. He'd been furious with himself for thinking of another woman when he'd hardly mourned his last. Guilt had wormed its way into his heart as he tried unsuccessfully to quash all involuntary thoughts he had concerning the one woman on the earth he couldn't ever have feelings for in any form. He had tried to remain indifferent towards her, but Adalind had steadily chipped away at his obstinacy. She'd fit him so well, it left him constantly off-balance, particularly every time she was within touching distance from him. The more he fought against whatever grew between them, the more he wanted her, more of her kisses, more of this wild and intense thing that seemed to tie them together no matter the distance.

Between the two of them, Adalind was the first to speak of love. It had happened on the night before he left for Germany with his best friend, Monroe. He remembered how his heart had beat a little wildly against his chest as she fearlessly bore her soul, yearning for him to know just how much she cared for him even if he didn't quite return her feelings or so he had thought. Confusion about their situation…their so-so relationship had weighed on him, he hadn't known what to think but the spark that had flickered precariously deep inside would not be extinguished; not even when he found out her powers had returned and in fear had kept the truth from him. Instead, that tiny spark had grown into a raging flame but Nick was stubborn as well as a fool.

With Bonaparte defeated and Adalind returned him, Nick hadn't amended his stoical stance despite the visibly grown intimacy between the two of them. They were in love. They lived like a couple in love despite the word never once passing between their lips, as though forbidden. Since he fearfully wouldn't allow himself to tell Adalind he loved her, she, he suspected, had taken her cues from him and never said a word in that regard. The obstacles such as loyalty towards Juliette and trust between them and everything that pertained to their past and their outward selves that had marked their previous time together had dissolved away with Bonaparte's death, all except a lifetime of fear that lay festering inside him. It had warped him, his whole outlook on life as though he could keep at bay the very worst of the worst from happening, so long as he didn't admit to himself, his love for her.

So now that the worst had come, he realised he couldn't continue as before. The irony wasn't lost on him as he held Adalind in his arms, that they had been there before but the shoe was now on the other foot. Adalind, fearing she would never see him again had confessed her love for him and it was now his turn.

"I love you." He said softly with all the intensity of feeling he knew he possessed.

"I love you," she replied sweetly and pulled him down into a fierce hug.

A literal weight had come off his shoulders as he exhaled and like clockwork, a cold grip of fear wrapped itself firmly around his heart, dreaded and very familiar. For a man who had lost so much in his life, he never expected Adalind, a Hexenbiest, a woman who once made his life a living nightmare, to have such a hold over his heart. Fear paralysed him with the thought of losing her for good, should he fail to stop Zerstörer and for the briefest of moments, he actually thought of running, of taking her and their children and getting into his Cruiser and just drive, as far as the open road would take them and never look back. However, on the other hand, he couldn't do it. He knew he couldn't walk away from his duty as a Grimm so, he went up against Zerstörer and everything he had feared tragically came true.

Nick, the Grimm, stood between pending doom and the rest of the world. What he hadn't expected was for Adalind to stand next to him and fight alongside him against Zerstörer. It hadn't taken long for him to figure that Zerstörer was unbeatable. They had hit him with everything they had but Zertörer just kept getting back up as they fell one by one, starting with his friends, Hank, Wu and Eve.

Then it happened. Nick watched the woman who, against all odds, had become the love of his life sacrifice herself for him. In the moment, he couldn't believe his eyes. It felt like taking a gut punch with a gravity force of infinity. His whole world came to an abrupt and violent stop where nothing else mattered as he rushed by her side, holding her in his bloody arms as she desperately gasped for air. In an instant, his whole world had shattered and Nick had lost all ability to think, to move, to breathe

Adalind died.

How long he knelt beside her, he couldn't tell. Perhaps it was for an eternity. His whole body had felt like lead, he couldn't move a muscle but it was her final words, imploring him to protect their children that spurred him on to fight a little longer before Zerstörer delivered his final and ultimate blow. He killed everyone Nick had loved, Adalind, Trubel, his friends even Renard, all except Nick. It was by design. Zerstörer had isolated Nick. He robbed Nick of what little strength he had left…his will to keep fighting and all for a wooden stick Nick had found in the Black Forest of Germany.

Zerstörer sadistically gave Nick a choice, to hand over the stick and get his loved one back in return and as if to prove his point, Zerstörer used his magic staff to raise Trubel and no one else, back to the land of the living.

It was crazy, Nick felt as though he'd stepped into the twilight zone and he couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. The only thing that resonated with him was the thought of getting Adalind back and thus Nick made up his mind. It was an impossible situation but Nick was drowning in absolute grief. He knew he made the wrong choice but his broken heart demanded far too much of him after a lifetime of pain, loss and sacrifices.

For the first time in six years Nick hadn't cared about being a Grimm or the responsibility that came with that mantle, he just wanted her back. He wanted his family and friends back. He hadn't thought twice of giving everything up, of sacrificing the world for Adalind. He would have done it too, had it not been for Trubel who stood in his way and then two oddly tangible spirits of his dead mother and aunt doing everything they could to talk him out of grief-induced insanity binge that almost saw him give in to Zerstörer's wishes.

If he had handed the only piece of advantage he had in his possession over to Zerstörer, the demon may have revived Adalind and everyone else Nick loved and doomed the rest of the world. Instead, because of three very determined Grimms, Nick managed to destroy the monster and stopped pure evil from reigning in the world by paying the ultimate price. It was the life of a Grimm after all and Nick wasn't exempt from its consequences. His aunt had tried to warn him of this very thing years ago.

He had saved the day but lost Adalind and the others along the way. The world nearly came close to ending, all because Nick was too distraught and emotionally compromised to do his job accordingly from the get go but nobody would ever know it. Although Trubel never agreed with him, giving the stick away to Zerstörer, and had fought him until he came into his senses, she seemed to understand where he came from. His family was important to him, and his family was her family. She couldn't see how she could have acted any different had she been the one pushed to the same limits as Nick that night.

After the battle, Nick made his way to Adalind's side. She looked too serene as if sleeping until he felt the coldness of death in her hand and he chocked down his tears. It was a few moments before he remembered Zerstörer, specifically the promise he'd made about raising his loved ones from the dead. Even though the demon was dead, Nick irrationally considered the possibility of the impossible coming true. Trubel was living proof that the magic contained in the staff could do anything and it did but not as expected.

Apparently, one of the perks of defeating evil incarnate was a do-over. Somehow, he reversed time. One moment he was standing in the brightness of day, outside the Postman's cabin and the next, he'd found himself in Monroe's living room the night before, Adalind and all his friends, alive and well and Zerstörer gone. He'd jumped through another portal. Nick didn't know how it came about other than his deep desire to have his loved ones back and he wasn't about to stare a gift horse in the mouth.

Disoriented, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was simply too good to be true until he felt her in his arms and kissed her, paying no mind to the audience around them including Eve, Juliette's avatar. Nick was never the overtly emotional type, especially around other people but nothing could hold back the absolute joy he felt at seeing her alive again, of being able to hold her in his arms once more. He knew the moment he embraced her, he'd never again want to let her go. Adalind was alive and that is all that mattered to him. While in the past, he never publically displayed his affections for Adalind for the world to see because it was something private between them and had wanted to minimise any blowback from some of his friends who perhaps had reservations about their relationship, Nick no longer cared what they thought. If he felt the desperate urge to kiss Adalind, he would and he did. He was completely again and nothing would take his joy away from him again.

*/*/*

The second time he told Adalind that he loved her, she would hear it for the first time…sort of. He knew it would not be the last for either of them. So much had changed from the last. Largely, the fear he'd felt was completely gone. There wasn't some doomsday event bringing turmoil in their lives to deal with. It was just the two them…and Nick's eagerness to watch her reaction as he shared with her the words she long desired to hear from him for a while. Getting to this point had proven a challenge to his patience he couldn't have foreseen. Adalind continued to surprise him, her tenacity, her patience, her ability to make others feel like they mattered. It was hard not to love her.

In the beginning of their relationship when things were still raw between them, they had harboured a few secrets from one another for lack of trust because of the nature of what they were, a Grimm and a Hexenbiest, natural enemies but also as a symptom of their toxic past together. Both had built up walls between them that would take concerted efforts from one or both of them to tear down if their relationship were to work. Adalind had proven the more determined of the two to build some trust by taking that first step and confessing to her powers returning. Everything else snowballed from there, such as Nick revealing what he'd found in Germany, Diana's role in Bonaparte's death among other things.

That night he killed Zertörer, they had returned to their loft as a family changed, in a changed world. They had faced the absolute worst and survived. Through some strange magic, the battle with Zerstörer had survived the reset of time, as though space and time had folded over one another, the past and future melding into one and only he and Diana retaining its memories that were now lost to everyone else. It was enough to give even Einstein a headache and Nick was no physicist as he tried to make sense of everything. Giving up, he tried to put it all behind him but Adalind never let him.

Zerstörer wasn't the only thing done away by the reset.

It hadn't occurred to Nick at the time, that after his harrowing experience in the now defunct reality, upon teleporting back into Monroe's living room and instinctively inspecting Adalind hand for a cursed ring and finding it gone, that _that_ particular moment hadn't been lost on Adalind. On the drive home, he'd kept peering over her left hand as if to make certain it was truly gone, a deadly gift from Conrad Bonaparte that had plagued both their lives even after his death. The ring had been forced upon her with an ominous threat to their children should she ever take it off her finger. Bonaparte had meant for it as an engagement ring between Adalind and Nick's then former Police Captain and Diana's biological father, Prince Sean Renard.

Nick remembered removing the offensive jewellery after killing Zerstörer, something he'd longed to do for months since the time he first saw it on Adalind's finger when jealousy and anger had ripped through him like a hot knife through butter. It was the first time Nick had experienced sharp pangs of possessiveness over the blond Hexenbiest and it galled him to see another man's mark on her body, especially Renard. He remembered the wash of relief over him when he saw her hand bare at their reunion in Monroe's home, a pleasing bookend to that latest chapter of his life, another sign that his "do-over" wasn't truly a do-over. Time had reset to a specific moment in the past but also certain things had carried forth from the "future", as it seemed and Adalind sensed Nick knew more than he let on. He saw the confusion in her eye because she too, had spent much of the drive home looking down at her hand, absently rubbing two fingers where the ring used to be as he'd watched her do countless times whenever frustrated by something.

Hence, when she asked him directly, after putting the kids to sleep, he gave her an accurate but abridged version of the events surrounding Zerstörer, his demise and the removal of Bonaparte's ring. Replaying those images in his mind was as hard as he imagined. It was strange, talking about her death like it was nothing more than a dream only it had happened for real. Adalind had moved to his side, taking his hand in hers and raising it to her lips so he could feel the warmth of her breath against his skin. She was alive, she said without saying a word, knowing he needed the assurance of that small gesture to ease his mind. His tale was wretched and ludicrous at best but he wasn't even afraid she wouldn't believe him. He'd already decided to be completely honest with her, something recent between them after their rocky start. He told her everything except for one thing, the fact that he'd already told her he loved her.

It was on his tongue to say it the moment he laid eyes on her after flying through the portal one last time but Nick had been overwhelmed with seeing everyone alive again, it unwittingly slipped to the back of his mind. However, the urge would well up again the moment they were alone after saying their goodbyes to their friends and got into his Cruiser as they made their way home but Nick bit his tongue and not for the same reasons as before but rather for something completely different. It wasn't every day that he had a chance to confess his love again for the "first" time to the woman who'd proven beyond a shadow of doubt his soul mate. He suddenly wanted the moment to be special and so Nick spent the entire drive back to their loft contemplating everything they had been through together, how he wanted the rest of their lives to be different which meant he had to be different and do things differently.

When morning finally came, real life had caught up to them both. He'd woken to find himself alone in their bed as Adalind tended to their children. His cell phone shrilled loudly next to his ear as if he needed even more confirmation that they didn't live in a bubble. It was the station, a possible robbery or worse, a dead body to deal with, whatever his plans for the first day of the rest of their lives, it had to wait. He hoped he'd make it in time to cook her dinner, something he hadn't done in a while. He would have preferred to take her out but he knew she wouldn't to go anywhere without Kelly and Diana, and the truth was, neither would he.

They'd come so close to losing it all, so whenever they could, they spent every second together as a family. In the days that followed, they'd fallen into a familiar pattern of Nick's day totally engrossed in whatever case he worked and Adalind looking after the children all day, including tutoring Diana whilst guiding her on the finer points of social relations, much like before but with significant changes, among which was Nick's relationship with Diana.

Before Zerstörer came into their lives, it had occurred to him that he'd had the same sort of relationship with the daughter that he'd had with the mother after they moved into the loft together. There was a lot of mistrust and some fear, only he was now on the receiving end. He'd hoped to form a relationship with the daughter but Diana had mostly remained distant because she hadn't wholly trusted him, a near perfect mirror of the relationship he had with Adalind when things began to change between them. It gave Nick a newfound appreciation for Adalind, who never gave up on him despite his stiffness around her at times, whose love had remained steadfast in the midst of the many challenges they'd faced. He'd hoped, in time, things between him and Diana would eventually improve.

To Nick's surprise, it had taken their shared experience regarding Zerstörer to clear away Diana's last remaining shred of doubt about Nick and his role in her mother's life. For Nick's part, it was no less complicated. It wasn't about accepting Diana as a part of his family, that was a given once he realised he couldn't live without Adalind. Nick had to come to terms with himself, the role he played in separating mother and child. Although Adalind had long forgiven him, Nick had secretly wrestled with the consequences of his actions, the primary of which being Diana's wild unpredictability stemming from a lack to real guidance from those who loved her. His mother had tried but she wasn't Adalind. For all the power Diana possessed, he couldn't help but see a little girl reacting to her circumstances because of the grown-ups who'd screwed up her young life before it had a chance to start.

Moreover, as with the mother, once he saw the real Diana and began to understand her, as she exhibited little quirks akin to Adalind with an innocent eagerness to please those around her, he couldn't help but fall in love. It no doubt helped that she was the spitting image of her mother, from the hair, the eyes, chin and heart. Her newly strengthened acceptance of him, not just as the father to her baby brother, or the man who loved her mother very much but also as someone she could absolutely trust had warmed his heart in the weeks that followed.

On the rare occasion than he was home before their bedtime, she'd regale him with her lessons of the day and ask him to tell her stories since she knew all of Adalind's already. It was awkward at first, seeing how easily they slipped into their roles as father and daughter despite never sharing any blood and Renard having her every other weekend. In a way Diana was as much his daughter as she was Renard's and had certainly spent more time with him than Renard. They grew close, closer than Nick ever hoped. One would say it was inevitable.

As the days turned to weeks and Nick's plans fell deeper into the cracks of day-to-day living, he grew more frustrated. How he and Adalind managed to carve out some time for one another, was a miracle in itself but Nick wasn't satisfied. For starters, the loft was increasingly growing smaller with each passing day. It had fulfilled its original purpose but they had now outgrown it, with Kelly about to hit a proper growth spurt, Nick realised the loft wasn't designed to house a family of four. There was also the matter of having no real privacy in such a small space. There's nothing like a crying two-year who wanted him "Momma" when trying to be intimate and having Diana sleeping only a few feet away could easily quench any fires within, those sliding doors to their bedroom weren't exactly soundproof.

They needed to move but Nick was at a loss of how to breach the subject after Adalind went out of her way to make this cold, abrasive industrial loft into a proper home for their family, their "fome". She'd put her whole heart into every corner, every new piece of furniture after his paltry attempts at the start. Everywhere he looked, he saw all of her efforts and he didn't have the heart to force yet another change of circumstances upon her. The day they had moved into the loft, he'd made the decision alone, never once considering her needs. He was single minded and had expected her to adhere to his whims. She'd followed him of course because at the time, she had no means of her own to protect and provide for Kelly after making enemies of the Royals. Nearly two years to the date and he'd grown to love their little loft because she had loved it so much. They'd created far too many wonderful memories within its walls to walk away from it but they also couldn't stay there forever, not without freezing time.

Thus, Nick stealthily planted some seeds here and there during their conversations about the children and what they needed to make their lives easier, like open spaces for the kids to play. He was testing the waters. Without missing a beat, Adalind readily countered by suggesting they create a roof garden. When he mentioned their need for privacy, she suggested babysitting and knew at least of two different people who'd readily take Kelly in for the night whilst Diana spent the night with her father. She was good. Everything he'd proposed, she had a quick and ready answer that would have convinced him if he weren't as determined as she was stubborn.

One day, after a difficult day at the station, he arrived home early to the sounds of joyous laughter ringing throughout the loft, which looked like a mini tornado had passed right through. Kelly and Diana were running in circles as Adalind, in a makeshift costume, did her best to catch them. He didn't know what was going on and so engrossed in their little play, they'd missed his entrance entirely. Nick mesmerised, stood by the elevator and watched as Adalind caught up to Kelly, who wasn't as quick on his feet as his sister, and watched as she lifted him high above her head to squeals of delirious laughter, his hands and feet flailing wildly until Adalind put him back down on the floor to resume her chasing.

However, she'd now zeroed in on Diana when she finally spotted Nick and self-consciously flashed him an easy smile. Adalind looked a glorious mess. Her cheeks were full…warm, as if kissed by the sun. A lump of emotion settled in Nick's throat as fresh realisation of his love for Adalind enveloped him. It took every ounce of willpower not to rush and sweep her into his arms and spill his whole heart before her. Instead, he carefully glided to where she'd stopped, tilted her chin so he'd gaze into her gleaming eyes and kissed her firmly on the lips, sandwiching a protesting Diana caught between them before breaking free and planting a kiss over the top of Diana's mussed up hair. Kelly, wanting a kiss of his own, ran over to his father's side and Nick happily obliged.

The scene was perfect except for one thing that tugged at the recessed of his conscience and Nick had finally made up his mind that the days of Adalind living in the dark about the nature and extent of his feelings for her were at an end. He used Adalind's own idea that would see them spending at least one night alone together at the loft as he conscripted his friends to watch over his son, with Diana already spending the weekend at Renard's place. It was the perfect opportunity to romance his woman finally and as only she deserved after everything they'd been through together.

Initially, she'd resisted the idea of leaving Kelly with Rosalee for an entire night and he understood why. As a result, Nick worked overtime to put her mind at ease and eventually the idea of spending the night alone with him grew all the more attractive as he spoke, which only meant he had to deliver on the goods by making the night truly special for her.

Nick was good at many things, like his job, being a Grimm but he floundered a bit when it came to romance. He was a simple guy, who didn't beat about the bush about anything except the things of the heart and he knew he'd been unfair towards Adalind and needed to make up for his stoical approach to their relationship. He needed to go above and beyond for the woman he loved, and so he did. He set up a candle-lit dinner, cooked by none other but himself with red rose petals strewn strategically from the elevator door throughout the loft, all the way to their bedroom and waited for Adalind to return alone from spending her day with Rosalee. Seeing the surprised look on her face when she stepped into the loft was worth the price of admission alone.

He was waiting for her, dressed in a dark suit and tie with a single, long stem rose clutched between his teeth.

"Hi." She said, a shy smile dancing lightly across her lips.

He was at a loss for words, giving her a curt nod in response as he took in the sight of her.

Adalind was dressed in a slick deep mauve dress with a tasteful but plunging neckline that shot bolts of lightning to Nick's extremities. It was Rosalee's idea that Adalind come already dressed for the evening but looking at her under the dim light of the candles, Nick began to regret his friend's fore thinking as he imagined ripping the dress from Adalind's shoulders before they even had starters. The cello playing softly in the background, courtesy of Monroe didn't help alleviate the pressure rapidly building. Shooing all thoughts of having his dessert long before dinner to the back of his mind, Nick ushered Adalind to her seat.

"Well this is unexpected. Are we celebrating something?" She asked innocently.

"You." He said as he pulled up her chair, waited until she sat down before stepping away to pour her a glass of red wine.

"Me? You did all of this for me?" she said with delight clear in her voice, which only made him feel like a bigger fool for his neglect of her.

"I'm sorry it only took me this long…."

"…Long for what?"

"To show you how much you mean to me. I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around most of the time and you've put up with a lot by being with me."

"Nick, I…"

"No," he quickly pressed his finger against her lips and cut her off before she went too far. "Don't say anything…just enjoy."

Adalind cheeks blossomed under his intense gaze and Nick cautiously stepped back. She already looked exceptionally delicious that night and for a moment, he rethought his plan for the evening but duly resisted the tightening in his pants. He meant the evening to be all about her and not just the sating of his own desires.

They enjoyed his pasta and later some salmon with raspberry glaze over a light conversation, tinged with tension. Their hands slid across the table, coming together in anticipation for the night ahead.

"Dance with me…I mean would you like to dance?" he amended.

"I would love to."

Love.

It was the first time she'd said the word since the note she left behind when she left the loft about a year ago. It sent a thrill down his spine as he took her hand in his and swept her to her feet and against his chest to the sounds of classical music Monroe swore would set the romantic mood he wanted. For a moment, they said not a word, only swaying gently to the music. Nick could barely keep a straight thought with Adalind pressed firmly against him. She did fit him perfectly and this time he wasn't ashamed to admit it to himself. Nick rubbed small circles against the small of her back to distract him from the racy thoughts already rushing through his mind. He wanted her…needed her but was determined to take a back seat until he'd done what he set out to do.

"Adalind."

"Hmmm?" she said, her head leaning gently across his chest.

"Please look at me," he pleaded, almost chocking on the words.

"What is it?"

It was now or never.

"I love you."

With tears welling up in her eyes, she smiled.

"I love you," she said.

"I need you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know we didn't have the best of starts and we hurt each other badly along the way." He said.

She tried to speak but he stopped her, "Let me finish. I am sorry but I am also glad because now you're standing here with me and I can't imagine my life without you…." Now with unshed tears in his own eyes, he went down on one knee and immediately a hand flew over her mouth, stifling an errant gasp. He reached down into his pocket, pulling a tiny velvet box and held it to her.

"We are quite the pair, you and I. We've never done anything in half measures, whether it was fighting or loving and yes, we went about this relationship the wrong way round but I know now it couldn't have happened any other way. I love you Adalind Schade and would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Without a word and tears streaming freely down her cheeks, Adalind bopped her head up and down vigorously in consent.

"Yes!" she cried and fell on his neck, showering him with kisses before he could slip the ring he had bought two days after his fight against Zerstörer over her finger. An exuberant laugh escaped his lips when he stood to his feet, towering over her before scooping her into his arms as her kisses grew deeper, setting his whole body on fire. Before he knew it, they were standing over their bed, ravaging each other like starving pair at a buffet.

"I love you." He repeated fervently between their kisses. "I love you so much."

"Shut up and kiss me," she said as she slid her hand over his front past his belt buckle and Nick nearly buckled from the pressure. He slid his hands over her shoulders and round her neck and untied the clasp of her dress and instantly it cascaded down her body and pooled at her feet. She automatically stepped out, leaving her in just her panties and stilettos; he nearly came just looking at her. Adalind backed over the bed as she watched him removed his jacket and stripped free of his shirt. His hands fumbled down to his belt before he heard Adalind's abrupt cry.

"Nick wait…the ring…."

"Right," he breathed in frustration.

He turned his head and saw the box lying where he'd dropped it when Adalind threw herself at him, still unopened and so he ran quickly to retrieve it.

"Ask me again," she said when he returned.

He looked at her lying seductively across their bed half-naked and lost all train of thought.

"Nicholas Burkhardt, ask me again." She commanded playfully.

Nick took the ring out of it box, knelt on the bed and crawling over her lithe body, peppering her with light kisses that made her body quiver under him. When he reached her mouth, he held the ring on the tip of her finger but refrained from pushing it in. When Adalind finally opened her eyes and he was able to look straight into their depths, he slipped the ring over her finger slowly with each carefully spoken word.

"I love you Adalind Schade, will you marry me?"

Her face lit up once more as she said, "Yes."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for taking the time to read my little fic. Part 2 will be written in Adalind's POV and I'm hoping to have it up in a few weeks. Please don't be shy to leave a review, it will be appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes** **:** I had an idea of how to write this chapter but I didn't know how hard it would be. At some stage, I almost gave up but I persevered. I hope you all like it. It's slightly A/U but I like to think this happened anyway between the end of the show and the twenty-year flash forward. This part takes place five years after Kelly's birth.

* * *

 **Nick & Adalind** **\- Part 2**

She had the perfect plan and as always, it had failed miserably. One would think after a lifetime of perfect plans going awry that Adalind would stop making them.

It began on the day she turned four years old. Adalind had wanted to impress her father with her hard-learnt dance routine after he paid "through the nose" for her lessons. She had begged her mother to do her hair in the style he liked best hoping it would help him stop arguing with her mother and they could all finally be happy as a family. It was her birthday but instead, Adalind had intended to surprise him in her pink tutu and slippers. She had memorised the steps almost perfectly as Mrs Redbuck had told her mother at least on one occasion.

Adalind had stepped onto her mini stage with the tape player blasting in the background as she counted under her breath, "One…two…three…. One…two…three…," but her daddy had stopped watching. Instead, he looked to be having one of his "talks" with her mother. She called out to him but the music seemed to drown her attempt before she watched him walk away. Adalind had stopped dancing right then and chased after him as fast as her scrawny little legs could manage.

She had asked him where he was going because she hadn't finished dancing for him yet. He had placed his hands on both of her shoulders, flashed a toothy grin and said in his typical cavalier fashion, "I'm getting the ice poppet. You can never have enough ice," like every other time he left after the "talk". Still Adalind never once saw even a cube of that ice no matter how many times he went down to the Joe's Convenient Store to buy it. She never understood why he went in the first place when they had perfectly good ice in their freezer.

"Now do your daddy a big favour Addie, be a good girl, you hear?"

Adalind had simply nodded despite the gnawing sensation that filled her little belly. She had watched him turn and walk away without another word spoken between them.

Her father had left to go buy ice for the lemonade that day and Adalind hasn't seen him since.

Then there was the terrible mishap with a boy she liked in middle school. She had come up with the brilliant plan to help him with his mathematics before she had the courage to ask him to the school dance. They met at least once a week at her house. Although her mother always hated having guests around, she had tolerated Tommy, sometimes encouraging Adalind to act a certain way if she wanted Tommy to be her first boyfriend, leaving Adalind's face flushed, glowing like a hot ember with acute embarrassment.

Suffice to say, one particular day she had decided to follow her mother's advice to her chagrin and without fail, it proved to be the first of many extraordinary but turbulent highlights that peppered Adalind's colourful life. From the clothes she wore, the choice radio station buzzing in the background with the frequent slow tunes playing to set the "mood", including their chairs on the dining room table strategically placed so their knees could touch, she did everything her mother said. Too bad Adalind couldn't have foreseen Tommy Pinto, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets as he scrambled out of her kitchen like a mad man, all the while screaming "Monster, MONSTER!" and pointing in her direction.

The following day, they packed up everything they had and moved to Portland.

While growing up, there was a dichotomy of ideas swirling around Adalind's head, a product of her parents, intentional or not. Her life had changed irrevocably after the Tommy incident besides moving to a new town. Adalind had become isolated as her mother doubled down on her "instructions". It was then that her mother decided to home school and nothing in the traditional sense. Adalind had to learn about her heritage, what that meant for someone like her. It was strange, for Catherine raised her to be conniving, conceited, and selfish, everything she imagined went against good parenting but Adalind was born into this life as the woged reflection in the mirror testified.

As a response, she'd tried an alternate form of rebellion, excelling in other, more socially acceptable fields in the hopes to break away from her mother's hold but every time she swore to stop listening to her mother, Adalind would find herself back in the fold, the bond, impossible to break. She may have been a Hexenbiest but she also loved her mother, the only parent who stuck around. It's at this time that Sean Renard had come into her life and Adalind found herself falling deeper into the wesen rabbit hole.

In a fruitless attempt to be everything her mother wanted Adalind had attached herself to Sean the instant he acknowledged her existence coupled with her mother's vigorous encouragement. Sean was beyond charming, he was handsome in a manly-stuffy sort of way. He was also very dangerous but most importantly, he was the bastard son of Frederick Renard, the reigning king of the House of Kronenberg in Austria, the most prominent Royal family among the Seven.

Adalind understood her mother's intentions were lofty in every sense of the word and although Catherine's time was in essence past, she had wasted no time in ensuring that her daughter would succeed where she and her rival, Elizabeth Lascelles had failed before in their desire to seat a Hexenbiest on the throne rather than serving at their whims. Too bad Portland Grimm, Nick Burkhardt had effectively dropped a nuke on all of their plans and sent Adalind's world spiralling out of her control like never before.

The plan was simple. Target his partner Hank and Nick would have no other choice but to comply, at least she had hoped. Sean had made his plans sound so simple, when the proved the opposite, he had insisted Adalind push harder by pursuing a relationship she didn't want, in order to have an in. She did it for her mother but she mostly wanted Sean and believed her success would clear away the last of the obstacles keeping their burgeoning relationship secret. With Hank's life hanging in the balance, getting the key from Nick was a good as done but Nick had outplayed and outmatched her as they fought under the curtain of night in the woods. In fact, he had surprised her when he had her pinned hard to the ground and in a moment of panic, she had struggled against his strength and gave away her advantage and the impossible had happened. He'd killed her…her Hexenbiest with nothing more than a bloody kiss.

She'd never cared for the Grimm one way or another. The day she saw him for the first time, he'd scared the living daylights from her but she'd recovered herself quickly enough to stick to the plan as laid out by Sean. Before that afternoon, she'd never seen a Grimm in her life but she'd heard all of the stories and he looked nothing like the Boogeyman, more like an altar boy or something to that effect with those boyish good looks. Nevertheless, Nick had piqued her curiosity, especially with the number of times they crossed paths after that day. He wasn't anything like his aunt with whom she was already familiar. Old Marie had in fact stalked Adalind for quite some time before Adalind, on the night she'd gone to the hospital as per Sean's instruction, had realised that the old woman was also a Grimm. Whatever their differences, Adalind couldn't deny the family resemblance, for Nick was as equally stubborn and reeked of a pungent sense of nobility she'd never seen a day in her life. In the woods, she had underestimated the little Grimmling, a mistake she intended never to repeat ever again.

That night, she'd lost more than her Hexenbiest. Adalind had lost her lover. She'd lost her mother but more than that, she'd lost herself. She'd never known stinging rejection quite like that night, not since her father had abandoned her but even then, he'd been a little kinder than her own mother and the man she had mistakenly thought had loved her were towards her. They'd called her useless, just another "pretty face" as if that's all she ever was, kicking her to the ground and to the streets. Nick had stripped her naked and left her raw with fury but her story would not end there. All her life her mother had tried to mould Adalind and form her into the perfect Hexenbiest, but it had taken losing everything and her wesen-self for the real witch to come out in all her ignominy.

Bereft and heartbroken, Adalind had drunk headily from the emotions frothing inside as she inflicted as much pain as humanly possible on all responsible and some who weren't. Sean and Nick had both made an enemy of her so she set to ruin their lives as efficiently as they had hers by targeting Nick's girlfriend. She knew that before Juliette even dropped to the floor after her old cat, Majique worked his magic that her revenge was complete and soon after, she left Portland with a plan to get her Hexenbiest back.

When Adalind fell pregnant, she'd imagined herself getting everything she'd ever thought she wanted; to be her old self again…whole, instead of the broken version, lowly and abandoned by those she had loved. She'd made deals she never thought twice about the high price to pay. All she wanted was her Hexenbiest back and what did it matter that she sold her own flesh and blood to get it? Her mother had taught her well. It's the Hexenbiest way, "…be conniving, be conceited, think of no one else but what's best for you and the world will bow at your feet…." Catherine had said but then she felt the baby kick for the first time and something deep inside shifted.

Her plan began to crumble under the weight of an unfamiliar emotion…unconditional love welling up from cracks of her broken life. Suddenly she couldn't go through with it and Adalind ran with nothing but the clothes on her back. She'd made enemies of the Royals and reneging on the deal had swiftly put a target on her back. Adalind had no other choice. It was crazy and stupid and people had died because of her but she couldn't give up the life growing rapidly inside of her.

As the father, and Royal who knew all too well what his own family was capable of, Sean had sent people to help her escape Europe, what she didn't expect was for one of those people to be Nick's Grimm mother come back from the dead and working with the Resistance, a group affiliated with the bastard Prince. Coincidentally, Adalind couldn't escape Nick, no matter what she did. Instead of flying to their original destination, her rescuer had returned Adalind and her newborn daughter to Portland, specifically, Nick's living room where they laid eyes on one another for the since time since their violent kiss in the Bremen Woods a year past.

It was awkward and uncomfortable for everyone except for Kelly Burkhardt. There was a lot of shouting around but rather Adalind was too preoccupied with her screaming little one, trying to calm her keep her and keep her warm but no avail against an empty stomach and nearly twenty-four hours without rest. Additionally, the baby also seemed to sense her mother's trepidation and hostile surrounding and wasn't afraid to let the grownups know her displeasure. The shattering of glass and photo frame thus marring the couple's happy visages was a nice touch, thought Adalind, a sneer, dancing lightly across her lips with satisfaction at her daughter's display of power and taste.

Not surprisingly, Adalind and the baby didn't linger long within enemy walls before they found themselves ensconced in Renard's condo, like old times…almost. Luckily, she was no longer the same foolish little girl infatuated with a half Royal and so she entertained zero thoughts of them becoming a real family like some fairy tale as a prince and his princess with a white marble castle, a million a servants and her missing pet cat…the whole shebang. Fool me once and all that, she had thought. It was however, nice to stop running. To have a warm bed in which to sleep, a more than decent meal to sooth her tragic life on the run in the backwoods of Austria, Adalind had missed the feel of silk on her bare skin, so for a reprieve, Sean wasn't the worst person on the face of the planet.

Adalind assumed she'd seen the last of Nick but the Grimm had tracked her and her baby to Sean's and couldn't help but stick his Grimm nose where it didn't belong. She didn't know why he'd followed her, considering they hated one another's guts and rather preferred to keep a wide berth between the two of them. Nick had confronted her, pleading his mother's cause, but Adalind was convinced he just wanted to take her baby. He claimed differently but she never bought it and challenged him and like clockwork, he revealed he knew what she was. It filled her with pride to show him her real face instead and watched him squirm like the entitled, self-righteous, self-appointed judge, jury and executioner of her people. Nick had sneered with contempt, well the feeling was mutual, she'd thought unimpressed.

Nick had told her he wasn't going to take her baby but he'd lied to her. It was a clandestine plan undertaken with everyone privy to the subterfuge except for Adalind. Without delay, the Royals had come after her baby in Portland, ironically named Diana, goddess of the moon, goddess of the hunt. To fool them, they had deceived Adalind and stolen her baby by making her think the Royals had taken her back to Vienna to protect them all, what later proved to be a poorly conceived plan as the domino of consequences rippled through all of their lives in the most spectacular of ways imaginable. It was a while before she learnt not only of Nick's duplicity but also of Sean's true betrayal as well.

*/*/*

Sometimes she had wished she was kehrseite, perhaps then her mother could have taught her to look before she lept. Adalind hadn't missed the irony of her situation, how she had a baby for the single purpose of getting her powers back only to lose Diana and have all those powers she had craved like an addict and wish them all gone just so she could hold her baby one more time.

If her mother had raised her differently, she would not have found herself in Vienna, at Viktor's gates, begging and pleading. She would not have found herself wearing Juliette's face and body, having sex with Nick so she could strip him of his Grimm sight just to see Diana once again. She would not have found herself pregnant a second time, trapped in the lion's den, whilst in pursuit of her first-born child.

Adalind knew she couldn't hide her pregnancy and worse, she couldn't hide the identity of the baby's father for long, so she tried to pass him off as belonging to Viktor, as a means to buy some time only to discover he was sterile. She needed a plan to save herself and her children once she got Diana back from the person who'd actually stolen her, Kelly Burkhardt but Kenneth had other ideas and had placed Adalind and her unborn baby directly in vengeful Hexenbiest Juliette's crosshairs when he had told Juliette she was carrying Nick's child. All of her good plans gone to waste. It was the soundtrack of her life and instead of changing the tune, Adalind had simply swapped one bad situation for another and it wouldn't be long until her luck ran out and with Kenneth, she had known that her clock was ticking and fast.

He had forced Adalind's hand. With no money, no allies, let alone friends and enemies around every corner she looked, Adalind did the only thing she could do and turned to Nick, the last person on earth she ever expected to help her but Adalind was banking on that old, boy-scout nobility coming through for their son, if never for her.

Adalind had met him in Sean's office, her heart beating rapturously in her ears, her hands ice-cold with sweat as she watched him standing at the door in shock and disbelief at what she told him. "It's yours," she had said.

"Impossible!" He spat out immediately, not wanting to accept even the possibility that he sired a child with the likes of her. She'd already been there and done that but it wasn't time for pleasantries, not with Juliette gunning for her and soon her child. It wasn't as though she'd asked for any of this but there they were…. She needed Nick's protection, she had more than debased herself by returning to him for help after what he, his mother and Sean had done to her in the past but her son's life mattered so much more than her pride and anger. Asking for Nick's help couldn't have been worse than the _contaminatio ritualis_ or Viktor's chamber of horrors. She needed a hero, their son needed his father and she would not have left until she got what she had come for.

Nick had resisted as she expected but Adalind was nothing if not prepared and made sure to point out what he stood to gain in helping her and what he stood to lose, what he'd sacrifice if he chose not to help her. When she took Nick's hand and placed it on her round belly and they both felt their son kick, Adalind had known she'd won a much needed reprieve but the real battle for survival had only just begun.

If she'd ever doubted Nick's resolve, he certainly stepped up when he later placed himself between Adalind and a pissed off Juliette. Although Adalind had convinced him to listen to her, she hadn't truly expected nor believed he'd actually stand against his own girlfriend for the Hexenbiest that ruined his life but then again, he'd ruined hers as well so in some weird and twisted way, they were even. All that mattered was to keep her son safe, which had inevitably relegated all thoughts of daughter to the back of her mind. Live today, find Diana tomorrow, she had thought as she trailed behind Nick out of the station to try and save herself by saving Juliette from a life time of villainy.

At that point, Adalind had taken stock of her life and for the first time, her path was clear. Every decision and every mistake she'd ever made had led her to one single moment when she actively gave up her Hexenbiest for the most important thing in the world, an opportunity to raise her child. She had taken the suppressant, rendered herself vulnerable and in truth, she had never felt more powerful than in that moment when she sensed her abilities gone. She had no regrets; an incredible weight had lifted off her shoulders. There was lightness in her heart that made her uncharacteristically amiable and she had wondered how she had missed it, the taste of freedom the first time when Nick had taken away her powers all those years ago.

Unfortunately, her newfound sense of life hadn't abated the threat that was Juliette, or Hexenette, as she liked to call her but never within Nick's hearing. Juliette had chosen instead to destroy her last chance at a normal life, much to Nick's great disappointment. That was the other consequence of being human, she had an influx of emotions she'd rather have kept buried deep inside, like guilt…fear…among other things that got her heart racing. The irony of being a Hexenbiest and thus controlled by one's emotions versus being human and also controlled by one's emotions, a same difference….

When she had heard of Kelly's death and the role Juliette had played in bringing it about, regret and compassion had seized Adalind suddenly and she'd found herself spouting words she never dreamt she'd ever say to a Grimm. It was hard to miss the pain etched on his face and Adalind did her best to smother the strange new feelings biting at her heals as she dealt with her own loss, the Royals finally getting hold of Diana. Much later when she had heard of Juliette's death and Adalind had rebuked herself for thinking about Nick, imagining the hell he must have faced at the end. He was a Grimm, someone not worth her time but there she was, unable to think of anything but Nick. She had attributed it to her hormones after carrying his baby after all. That had to be it, she'd thought desperately, and had ignored the fact that she never thought kindly towards Sean after Diana's birth.

With Juliette gone and the Royals back in Austria, she still had no resources to her name to try to get Diana back, let alone provide for her son. Adalind had found herself back at the mercy of others, in this case, Nick Burkhardt at the birth of his son. It had grated to be so helpless once more. The last time she had depended on someone, Sean had betrayed her or one of the Royals had threatened her life, Sean not excluded and Nick was a Grimm, so she'd long raised her guard where he was concerned but Adalind was tired of running. Now at a new crossroad, she had made her decision. It was no longer about what she wanted but instead what the little bundle nestling in her arms needed.

Her baby boy had no less a dramatic entrance than his big sister but he had made it into the world, beautiful and perfect in every way. She had watched over him, counting all of his fingers and all of his toes, ten and ten in total with a cleft chin to boot, like his daddy. Adalind had felt a tug in her chest as she made note of every little tell-tale feature on his cherubic face. He was definitely Nick's son; there was no way she could have fooled the Royals or even a blind man as to who was the father, provided she avoided Stefania's wretchedly painful paternity test first.

It was a short while later that Nick had joined them and a series of "firsts" began. She had offered Nick an olive branch as he held his son for the first time by giving him mother's name, Kelly. Nick's look of genuine surprise and not wrath had continued to unfurl the long-standing tension between them and perhaps something more. It was more than strange to find common ground not only between a Grimm and a Hexenbiest but also between enemies. Adalind had remembered Nick's hesitation at learning he was going to be a father but the absolute look of love on his face in that hospital room, she had recognised it, the same look she had on her face when both her children were born. A look that said nothing else mattered, nothing was more important than that moment when one held one's baby in their arms and how they'd rip the world in half if anything ever hurt them.

For the first time ever, the Grimm and the Hexenbiest understood one another.

Nick eventually took mother and child home, his home…Juliette's home. It was awkward that he he'd actually done it but also unsettling to be settled in the same house that he had shared with the Juliette. It seemed everywhere Adalind walked; she stepped on some memory permeating in every space, including his guest room, where she and Kelly had slept. Moreover, with the recent events, it was truly uncomfortable for them both but Adalind couldn't dwell too long before reality eventually caught up with them. Whilst she adjusted to her human self, Nick was still a Grimm and too many people were far too curious about certain things that had gone down, leading up to and including Juliette's death.

She suddenly grew worried. It was more than obvious she had depended on him before and certainly after Kelly's birth for protection. Adalind had set fire to her career and life the day she had took up with the Royals, Sean included, it only took several years for everything to light up like the 4th of July but with chaos, violence and death and now she stood to lose Nick as well. She was worried, not so much about not having a job, or a place to live. She was worried about Nick, a first, and the thought of raising Kelly by herself when they'd promised one another in her hospital room that they were in this together. In a fit of a million thoughts racing through her mind and emotions bubbling furiously to the surface Adalind began to babble, "…I just don't want anything to happen to you," she had said, more than she had intended, revealing so much more than she was aware she'd felt.

For the longest three seconds of her life, they had stood in the middle of his living room, in silence, staring into each other's eyes as Adalind's words laden with feeling sunk in before she averted her eyes from his piercing darkened greys, embarrassed at her outburst. What was wrong with her? She wasn't supposed to care for Nick at all. She also wasn't supposed to have a baby with a Grimm either but life had a way of throwing her curveballs as if they were confetti.

In a panic, she had quickly searched her heart for the anger that had nearly driven her mad in the past. She looked for the hate for the man who now stood before her that had kept her company for many a nights in Austria wanting something familiar to steady herself as the ground beneath her feet shook the foundations of her life. Instead, what she had found defied logic. It defied reason, spitting right in the face of their history. Thankfully, his cell phone had rung just then, before she could do something completely stupid like kiss the father of her baby and actually enjoy it.

Traitor, Adalind had accused herself before she went to sleep that night. She had actually wanted Nick, if Kelly senior hadn't sent her mother to her grave, Adalind was certain that learning that her daughter had fancied the town Grimm would have keeled her over in record time. Nick was handsome sure but he was a Grimm and there simply was no fraternisation allowed between their kind, hybrid baby Kelly aside. She'd remembered the one day after Nick had arrested her once, years ago when she teased him about the two of them having some fun together, under different circumstance…. She hadn't meant a word of it of course but it now seemed as though her words had come back to torment her, filling her dreams with visions of soft kisses in the moonlight, desperate kisses in the warm sand as cool waves lapped at their feet, wet kisses, hungry kisses, loving kisses…all from Nick Burkhardt.

It wouldn't have been a big deal. It wasn't as though she'd never been in that situation before, where her body betrayed her at the sight of a gorgeous man. Unfortunately, Nick had quickly moved them out of the house and into a loft over the old paint factory, where Adalind had the not so brilliant idea of asking him to sleep in the same bed in the only bedroom available because of some irrational fear that someone could break in and hurt their son. It wasn't the best way to get over her growing infatuation with the man who had gone above her expectation to protect her and Kelly. In fact having him so close to her, so near that she could feel, without touching him the heat radiating from his taut muscles, Adalind soon grew so intoxicated from the smell of him she wanted to taste every inch of him.

Clearly, she'd lost her mind but apparently, she wasn't he only one because one day, their lips happened to meet in wondrous delight and exceeded every fantasy she ever had of her Grimm and Nick had confessed he too had thought of kissing her, leaving her breathless. They were moving too fast. She knew it and so she had tried to hit the brakes. They weren't friends just roommates co-parenting a little child, she had told herself in a half-hearted effort to quench the flame dancing wildly through her veins. Whatever feelings had sprouted between them, they were due to a little cabin fever. It was bound to happen when cooped up in the loft all day almost every day with little company outside of her son.

She knew nothing about the man that slept beside her every night and he had known nothing about her apart from the few altercations they had shared in the past, all of them not good at all, so where did those feelings come from. Adalind did her damnedest to remain indifferent towards him, locking up her heart not wanting a repeat of Sean smashing it into a million pieces; she still had the bruises to show for it. Adalind had feared giving in to what she felt, afraid of feeling so much by herself. However, she couldn't have foreseen his trip to Germany, when her world tilted even further from its axis.

Never in her life had Adalind felt so vulnerable. He was leaving and there was a great possibility that he wouldn't return and not for lack of trying. She wasn't a fool, Nick was a Grimm, by the nature of his birth, and danger lurked everywhere. There was a reason she had never seen a Grimm until her adulthood, because their calling, they had much shorter lifespans than the average kehrseite, let alone a wesen, especially those as active as Nick. Suddenly the idea of losing him robbed her of her senses, of her caution and restraint. As she watched him pack his suitcase, a lump had lodged thick and fast in her throat as she choked back her emotions. She'd done her best to pretend his trip hadn't affected her and had failed.

"Wish him well," she'd told herself. "…Remind him of his son needing his father around," she planned to say but instead, she had uttered words she'd sworn to herself never to speak aloud. "I know I can't keep you from going…it's something you have to do, but I also know there's a chance that you won't come back." She had said steadily. She'd left him speechless, which purred her further past the point of no return, "…I can't let you go without you knowing how I feel about you and I don't care if this is a mistake…I love you…."

There…she'd done it. He had to know and there was no going back.

In one fell swoop, his lips fell on top of hers as the tensions between them burst like a riverbank swelling with a rush of emotion that now swept them both to heights unknown. Adalind had silenced the voice of reason in the back of her mind as she drowned in Nick's kisses, in his every caress. She had wanted this; she had needed him and would have him, even if it were only for one night. She had never imagined their first time together as Nick and Adalind could be their last, if Germany proved as dangerous as she had imagined. She had finally fallen in love. She hadn't plan it and still Nick was leaving her…perhaps for good, so she had savoured his ever touch all of his love and hoped against hope….

*/*/*

Adalind had debated with herself, whether to speak now or wait for a better time as she watched her husband's sleeping profile. He'd had a long day and it was already past 1:00 AM when he slumped right next to her after the briefest of kisses goodnight but Adalind's whole body was abuzz with her news. She couldn't sleep a wink but hated the idea of waking him assuming he had an early morning the following day. What was a girl to do?

"What is it?" he finally asked, his eyes still closed. It was uncanny how he did that, how he sensed her every movie without even trying. Like their connection from years past was stronger than ever.

"It's nothing. It can wait," she lied.

"It's obviously something and it can't because I can hear you think."

"Liar." She said.

"No, I just know you so well," he said softly as he opened his eyes.

They laid in the dark, facing one another before Adalind felt a calloused hand trail the hair from her face. She leaned into the palm of his hand and planted a gentle kiss. His grey eyes almost as dark as when she first saw them the instant he got his Grimm sight but she no longer feared what lay behind that darkness, not even after her powers returned when the suppressant intended for Juliette wore off.

"Honey, Is something bothering you? Is it work? You can tell me and I'll march straight into Berman's office first thing tomorrow morning and bust his Lausenschlange kneecaps for messing with my lady."

"Gosh no, it's not work, so settle down there Grimm-boy. You won't be busting anyone's kneecaps any time soon. There's nothing wrong with your Honey," she said quickly, using his favourite term of endearment for her. It had taken them a while to get comfortable with their respective feelings for one another and had nearly missed the chance to be happy together when Bonaparte and Zerstörer came into their lives and separated them, first with a fake relationship to Sean Renard and, as Nick put it, her death at the hands of a demon.

"Then what's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong." She replied but he wasn't convinced.

"Now who's the liar?"

"It's just…." She said and then sat up, facing him.

He switched the light on his bedside table and tuned on his side to face her as he rested his head on his hand. Although the light behind him bathed half of his face in near darkness, Nick was as handsome and as sexy as she'd ever known him. Adalind felt her inside curl as she followed her train of thought down a well-trodden path that left her moist.

"Nick, are you happy?" she asked him without much thought.

"Of course I'm happy. What kind of question is that?" He spouted his own question, half-indignant.

"I was just thinking…of the past, how we got here."

"Addie, the point is that we _are_ here. That's all that matters. The past is just that…past."

"Don't you ever wish you could go back and do things differently, a do over like with Zersörer's staff?"

"Never." He said immediately as he sat up to mirror her stance on the bed, taking both her hands in his, lifting them up to his lips for a kiss. "I love my life as it is. I love you, our kids, I don't want to go back to change anything and risk lose the most important people in my life." He said fervently.

"That's not what I meant."

"…And yet I feel that's exactly what would happen. Everything we've been through, happened exactly as it should…everything. Diana and Kelly wouldn't be here today if it weren't for that stupid key and I can't begin to imagine my life without you so wherever _this_ is coming from, it needs to end right now, unless… _you're_ unhappy." He said, his voice hitching a little high at the last word.

"Me…unhappy? You are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I mean that with every fibre of my being. I don't want to change anything…well except for maybe one thing or three. Nick, for years I made wrong decision after every wrong decision and I know we couldn't have happened under different circumstances but I've always wished we did. Like how I wanted Diana to be yours instead of Sean's. Call me selfish, I don't care, because after all of these years, you are more of her dad than her actual father is and I don't know how many times I wished we had Kelly under better circumstances so we could share every moment of his life together. I feel like I cheated you and can't give you back all of those precious months although I really, really want to." She said with tear-rimmed eyes.

Nick leaned over and kissed her lips, slow and sweet, and even after their lips parted, Nick maintained contact as their forehead touched.

"I'm not going to lie and say I haven't wished the same. I have but Honey we can't change the past. All we can do is to make our present and future the best of our lives." He said.

Without another wasted moment, or rather another case of foot in mouth disease, Adalind opened her mouth, "I'm pregnant." She exhaled suddenly, doing away with the rest of all bells and whistles of her announcement, seeing as it hadn't gone as planned.

"Wait…what?" he said after a pause too long, shock, confusion and jubilation danced across his face all at the same time, each wrestling for dominion.

"Nick, I am pregnant. We are going to have a baby." She said as calmly as possible while he processed the news.

"Seriously?" he said with a gleam in his eyes coupled with the broadest grin she'd ever seen on his face. She smiled back at him and nodded for confirmations. The next thing she knew, he'd swept her thoroughly into his arm, catching her completely by surprise as he laughed with delirious abandon. "Oh my God, I'm going to be a father!" He cried exuberantly while also squeezing the air from her lungs. He pulled back so he could look into her eyes, "I mean I'm already a father and to two very beautiful and intelligent children but _we're_ having a baby." He said as his eyes brimmed with tears.

"So you are happy?" She couldn't help asking judging by his reaction but she wanted to hear him say it again.

"Infinitely so!" He said and kissed her once more before laying her on the bed, lifted her shirt and placed an ear across her smooth stomach. Adalind heart burst as she laughed at the sight.

"Nick, I don't think that's how it works."

"Shhh!" he said, brushing his lips lightly against her skin.

"Oh god, that tickles." She whined as she fought back more laughter but Nick hardly moved as she hugged his mussed up head against their unborn child.

"Hello little one," he began. "I want to know you have made your Mommy and Daddy the happiest parents in the whole world. You will be so loved, so cherished and adored. You will have the best big brother and sister who will protect you in case some dunce of a boy gives you trouble and tries to pull your hair…"

"Hey, what if it's a boy?" she asked instead.

"It's a girl, I'm sure of it." He said without missing a beat. Adalind simply laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement but Nick took no offense as he returned to his impromptu conversation with their baby and Adalind returned to massaging his head as the sound of Nick's husky voice lulled her to sleep.

She'd awoken a monster.

Adalind couldn't set one foot off the bed without Nick hovering over her as if she was some fragile piece of expensive furniture about to break. The OB-GYN had suggested she take things easy, not to become invalid under the strict ministrations of her husband who saw dangers lurking in every corner of their home. She adored Nick and at first, she had relished the idea of being waited on hand and foot but for once, she wished she could go to the bathroom without him holding her hand. Regardless, Adalind hadn't had the heart to take anything away from Nick. He was simply infectiously happy and making him happy made her extremely happy.

This child was a godsend as she considered the long road she'd travelled first with Diana and then with Kelly. In a million years, she couldn't have dreamed the day would come when all of her dreams would come true. Adalind Schade, her mother's greatest disappointment, now a mother herself but one who taught her children the difference between right and wrong and encouraged them to always do the right thing, no matter the cost with the greatest love of her love right beside her. This child seemed to pull tighter the tie that had bound Nick and Adalind together from the day they first laid eyes on one another but it couldn't be that easy.

The closer they got to the day, the more difficult things got for Adalind. She'd tried to put on a brave face, not wanting to worry Nick but one day, when he saw a bloody spot where she'd sat, he'd nearly lost his mind as fear gripped them both. Nick had rushed her to the hospital where they carried out a series of tests, an ultrasound scan to ensure their baby was indeed safe and Dr Sandringham had determined it wasn't serious but the doctor still decided to keep Adalind in the hospital for further observation. Something Adalind had tried to fight unsuccessfully.

Unfortunately, the thought of losing their child quickly left her bereft of energy as her condition worsened. She desperately longed for Nick, for the comfort of their home and his arms, as he'd tell everything would be all right. She'd promised to help him paint the nursery a month back but a minor tumble had seen them set aside all plans especially all forms of exertion on her part. When she started feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen, it forced her doctor to call Nick amidst Adalind's protests that everything was fine.

"Not yet, it's too soon," she'd cried helplessly, desperate to remain calm but to no avail.

The doctor assured her that she did everything she could but still needed Adalind's help to do the rest. In her panic-stricken condition, Adalind had only managed to fast-track her due date. She saw it all over Nick's bloodshot eyes when he eventually strode into her room.

"I'm sorry," were the first words out of her mouth.

"You haven't done anything wrong." He tried to assure her.

"I know what the doctor has told you but it's too soon."

"The longer we wait, it may be too late for the both of you and I can't lose you again."

"…Just a couple of weeks, that's all I need…for her…." She begged him.

"It could be a boy you know…." He quipped and for the first time in days, she actually laughed.

It had become a joke between them over the course of her pregnancy. They'd both decided not to find out the sex of their baby when he or she would be born, two months from then but plans had a way of taking an unexpected tangent. Adalind wasn't ready to meet her baby just yet and the doctor was telling her they couldn't wait any longer for risk of losing either mother or child, or both. Adalind was convinced they could afford a few more days, days that lent strength to her baby as he or she developed in her womb. She would gladly sacrifice her life if it meant her child could live and one look in Nick's eyes and she knew he knew it too.

"No…I need you to stay with me," his eyes reflected back and Adalind closed her eyes, unable to look at him any longer.

"The staff…we could use the staff." He said.

"No. I don't want that thing anywhere near us. We don't know what it would do." She heaved uncomfortably.

"Well, it will make sure nothing happens to my wife and child," he said stubbornly.

"Two weeks. Give me two weeks Nick and once our child is delivered safely, if anything happens to me, then you can use the staff," she laid out her plan for him but she could see he wasn't for it any more than she wanted to go on the operating table at the day's end.

Another bolt of pain shot through her and Adalind cried out in anguish, unable to bite down the pain any longer as the last of her resistance melted away. So when the nurses swarmed her room to lead her to the operating room, instead of Nick staying behind as with the birth of their son, he'd remained by her side all the way through. The doctor explained to them both what to expect after only 33 weeks of gestation, the risks, the intensive care their child would need in the first 28 days of their child's life. Nick held his wife's hand, not once letting her go, instead holding her more tightly as the nurses quickly hustled they tiny bundle of joy in a plastic wrap to keep her warm. A tearful Adalind heard her daughter's muffled cries and breathed a sigh of relief, at least she was breathing on her own.

She begged Nick to go with her as they wheeled their little one to the ICN, "…Please…I know she'll be alright with you there."

He bowed his head.

She sensed his dilemma but she'd never be able to rest until she knew their daughter wasn't all by herself in this cold unfeeling place that harboured the stench of death as much as the breath of life.

"Cathy." He said.

"Hmm…?" she said, her head already drooping with exhaustion.

"That's her name, Catherine Burkhardt." He said as he looked into her eyes, not certain whether it was a question or a statement of fact.

"Ok…Catherine…Cathy Burkhardt," she said, testing the name on her lips. "Now go, our Cathy needs her father to be strong for the both of us. With you there, I know nothing with happen to her and remember I love you." She didn't mean it as a last goodbye, despite it sounding like one.

"I love you more" he said soberly and kissed her tired brow and finally her flushed lips. "Do me a favour?" he added.

"I…I'll do my best." She breathed slowly.

"While I am gone, dream of me." He said and walked away to watch over their daughter.

Adalind gave him one of her playful smiles that he rewarded with a kiss and a promise that their story didn't end there, in fact it was only just getting better.

* * *

 **A/N:** I had a plan and wanted to give them a frivolous and carefree pregnancy but the best-laid plan and all that…. I hope you liked and Adalind having another baby, together this time was the one thing I desperately wanted to see with these two on the show, in season 11. I did it in such a way that it wouldn't contradict the show. Little Cathy would be fifteen at that 20 year flash forward, old enough for her parents not to worry too much about leaving her behind when they are hunting bad guys but not old enough to join them and my personal head cannon is that she's a Hexenbiest, Kelly already called dibs on being a Grimm. It's only fair. Please don't be shy and give a review. Until next time….


End file.
